truTV’s Twitter awareness campaign is a smash hit

The First Four kicked off on Tuesday, and is rolling on into Wednesday. On Thursday, the round of 64 kicks off with games on truTV. The network has been part of the NCAA Tournament package for a few years now, yet the same questions and snarky comments survive.

What the hell is truTV? What channel is it? Who watches this network? Does truTV actually exist before and after the NCAA Tournament?

The response is typical and, quite frankly, expected. The network doesn’t really air any other sports programming. Its original shows pale in comparison to those on other cable networks. Its programming doesn’t really stand out in any way.

But the mastermind behind the truTV Twitter account is doing a great job at building awareness for the network. The hashtag #HaveUFoundtruTV is taking off this week, spurred on the network’s Twitter account letting people know where to find the network and what’s on the network while also dealing with the relentless barrage of trolls ripping the network. Here’s a brief sampling of tweets from this week.

@JayJay1807 It is sad."Pathetic" seems a little harsh. #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

@120yearz Here’s a question: are you this mean when you’re not behind a computer? http://t.co/6vQ8BIjdfB #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

@wvprephoops COMIN' IN HOT! http://t.co/6vQ8BIjdfB #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

@joepardavila You're right. If you're TERRIBLE at clicking links–> http://t.co/6vQ8BIjdfB #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

@gc_wallace We're not begging. But we will come to your house and change the channel back if you try to watch anything else #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

@JerodNBC4 This is your annual reminder that we're here. And we care. And everything will be OK. http://t.co/6vQ8BIjdfB #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

@slmandel Why Google when you can go straight to http://t.co/6vQ8BIjdfB? #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

@MattBrownCFB Seriously. 10 seconds tops with this: http://t.co/6vQ8BIjdfB #HaveUFoundtruTV

— truTV (@truTV) March 18, 2015

I think that last tweet actually is key. It doesn’t take a long time to find what channel truTV is. This isn’t 20 years ago, when on-screen guides weren’t a thing and you actually needed a TV Guide to find out what was airing on what channel and when. It takes two seconds to Google “truTV channel number” and be directed to truTV’s website with a fancy “find truTV” on the page.

So this week, instead of rolling out that oh-so-original tweet about not knowing what channel number truTV is, if it’s actually a thing, and what else airs on the network…maybe save yourself the trouble. And if you do, don’t worry – truTV will find your tweet, send you a snarky tweet, and give you the information you need.